Windows Phone 8.1 update for T-Mobile's Lumia 925 and Lumia 521 coming later this year

Back in the month of April, T-Mobile announced that it will be rolling out the Windows Phone 8.1 update to the Lumia 925 and the Lumia 521 over the summer. As we head into fall, there is no word of when the update will be available to users on either device, with a tweet from T-Mobile's support account only mentioning that an update will be available "later this year."

Other than that, there is no clear timeline as to when users can expect to see an update to Windows Phone 8.1. Meanwhile, AT&T has started the Windows Phone 8.1 OTA update for its Lumia 925 late last month.

Coincidentally, I found that article about Android KitKat roll-out to popular flagships.
Guess what! T-Mobile is trailing as well. I see a pattern here...
Lower price gets you lower service quality.
Thank you Developper Preview program!

Getting an unlocked WP still doesn't guarantee anything. Microsoft are holding up updates for lots of the unlocked country variants. My UK Lumia 720 is still waiting for the official update, whereas the O2 locked version was receiving it 2 weeks ago.

•Signup here, appstudio.windows.com (Login with your Microsoft account) on the Windows Phone App Studio page. Click the Blue “Start new Project” button on the top left, and register. You’re now enrolled. You don't need to start an app or anything.
• Download ‘Preview for Developers’ app here,http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/preview-for-developers/178ac...
•Run the Preview for Developers app, and login with the same Microsoft account you used to signup for App Studio, and tick the ‘Enable Preview for Developers’ checkbox. That’s it.
• Go to, Settings>Phone Update, and begin your download.

So far the only Lumia models that have failed to receive updates are carrier models eg the T-Mobile exclusive 810. Unlocked models may get their updates later than others but they will get them. Unlocked is the best way to go.

Which doesn't make any sense. Also it wasn't the case before they bought Nokia. Unlocked phones always used to get updates first or at least at the same time as branded ones. My unlocked 920 got lumia black almost a month before my friend's branded one did. With Cyan he was the one who got it first.....

There really can't be any explanation other than Microsoft delaying updates on purpose.

That really isn't a theory at all...there is zero benefit for them by delaying updates on purpose...
I mean really man...you need to come up with some real logic before you put up stuff...

When Black was rolled out..ppl complained back then about the schedule...and ppl will do so now too...only you weren't then...and now you're one of them...
Keep in mind this is a much bigger update btw...

Unlocked phones should always get updates first because they do not need to be approved by carriers. They should get the update first or at least at the same time as branded phones. If branded phones get the update first then it smells fishy. It obviously means that the update for that model is finished so why is it not comming out on phones that do not need to be approved by a carrier?

The only thing I can think of is that carriers are probably blackmailing Microsoft, forcing them to delay updates for unbranded phones, to create an illusion that branded phones are "better" and people should buy them instead of unlocked ones, and if Microsoft does not comply they will stop promoting Windows Phones.

That's my theory. How would YOU explain the ridiculous fact that branded phones get updates before unlocked ones, which do not even need to be approved?

All I know is others have been in your place before with Black and now you're in the same spot with Cyan so this is nothing new.
the bigger update part btw was to highlight how much more complicated it would be test the update for various variants..

Look:
1) Microsoft developes 8.1 and sends it to OEMs
2) Nokia receives it, develops firmware, tests them both and sends them back to Microsoft for delivery
3) Microsoft passes it over to carriers for approval and starts pushing it to unlocked devices because it's been already tested by OEMs and no carrier owns unlocked phones.
4) Carriers approve it, tweak it if they wish, send it back to Microsoft and Microsoft starts pushing it out.

This is how it used to work.... Now for some reason Microsoft is holding the update for unlocked phones.... Even AFTER phase 4 is done... WHAT IS UP WITH THAT!?

Stop telling me about others being in my place. Those "others" used to be people who had to wait for carriers to approve the update, so it made sense why they got it late. There was an obvious reason for that!
Unlocked phones getting the update later than branded phones makes no sense!

Yeah all of MSs WP publicity touts 8.1 functionality, yet the number of non-Preview phones that have it is minuscule... Of new phones, only the Lumia 635 and HTC One M8 that came out a couple of days ago have it officially, and of existing ones the biggest seller, the 521, doesn't have it.
It's now 4 months since 8.1 was officially announced, and rumored months before that. Every 8.0 phone was supposed to get it "this summer". There's 2 weeks left...

How is it miniscule...925, 625, 720, 520, 1020,1320 (not sure about 1520) and now many of the 920s and limited 620s...
The issues with the updates reaching the phones is mostly limited to US..so yeah its probably miniscule there...
But worldwide its a lot less grim than how you put it.

Not an option for a lot of people, especially considering the lower rural coverage that t-mobile has. I switch from AT&T roaming about 1/2 mile from my house, to a local carrier NEP Wireless, and at the top of my driveway, I lose that. Verizon is the ONLY company that has service at my house, and I don't like their plans, pricing, business practices...

I require the use of WIFI calling, which is only available on t-mobile branded phones. I would LOVE to get an unlocked WP, but what use is it, if I can't use it at my home?

The biggest one is the lack of Bluetooth LE. Without it I can't use my fit it or my heart rate monitor when I go running. Very annoying, especially because Lumia black supported it and the 8.1 update disabled it due to driver incompatibility.

The battery life on my 925 is nothing close to what it was before DP8.1 and it also gets very hot whenever I used it Navigon or Here Drive on it. I have both 1020 and 1520 so I don't use the 925 that much but I used it mainly a back up phone especially when driving in the country lines where AT&T phones being used on T-mobile network easily lose connection.

My 1020 was quite slow and studdery with DP. I took the plunge last night and went to cyan with DP. I do not regret that at all. Battery already has a major improvement (according to usage percentage I am getting double. Percent aside, I have not been at 81% by this point in the day for a very long time) As well, launching apps is much faster (Skype specifically) and no noticeable lag when going back to home screen as I had without Cyan. I am very pleased that I decided to do it.

Edit: To clarify, not slow necessarily, but not near as fast as what 8.0 was. To me cyan feels like 8.0 did.

That is definitely a good point. When apps were slow previously, a clean install of an app can make a big difference. I would still say that battery was due to firmware, but the rest could be due to many factors, to your point.

This! My ATT 925 has the official 8.1, Cyan and the 8.1 DP update an has had them for a while. TMO is not supporting their WP devices, simple as that. Regardless of what you disgruntled TMO people say.

Until MS releases don't require corresponding firmware updated I will refrain from joining the DP. Hopefully, now that MS owns Lumia we will see firmware for Lumias delivered along with the OS upgrades. That would be sweet!

What you're implying is that before the update tethering didn't work. But now saying that after the update it does. If that's the case then I'm even more excited and eager to receive the update for my unlocked AT&T 920.

If Microsoft could change it, they would. When you have 4% market share you cant dicate to the carriers anything. Blame them. Not Microsoft. There is plenty of legitimate things to blame them for anyway...

That's true. They must have added the 620 on cricket later? When I checked, which was a long time ago, I'm pretty sure the 810 was the only one, and I was ranting about that here. At least it has a friend now, which isn't exactly a good thing. And the other T Mobile Windows phones were one of the last to get Black. Lumia 710 did not get an official 7.8 update. I can go on and on about T Mobile's failures, and some people will give me "good reasons" for them, but after a while these really start to sound more like excuses. Of course, Sprint users probably have the most right to complain (considering Sprint is the 3rd largest US carrier). They have like 2 Windows phones and I doubt they get any support.

This is so disappointing. I can see why T-Mobile doesn't get any of the high end windows phones, if the carrier barely cares to support the devices. I have both phones from T-Mobile and have been waiting for these updates, whereas my sister on ATT got hers like a month ago. Makes me think about Cricket more and more!

Right now I'm stuck waiting on Comcast to do a prebury because where I live didn't have existing cable. So till they get here it's cellular only. But my cellular speeds are about half what I'll be getting from Comcast. Gotta love T-Mobile, if my phone was a Lumia 635 I'd probably have as fast or faster than what the plan I am going to be getting from Comcast

I have a 521. This delay is pretty frustrating. I know that people with the DP have been reporting problems with WiFi calling so maybe getting that sorted out is what's causing the delay. Still, they have the 635 out so they must have been thinking about this issue for a while. I only stick with T-Mobile because of Uncarrier - their support of WP is pretty awful between upgrades and available models.

My wife went from an HTC 8x with the Dev Prev of 8.1 over to a Nokia 925 just a week ago. (she broke the screen, alright she smashed the screen). She got used to Cortona, this will not make her happy. Good to hear it's still on the Roadmap but why not now? It seems T-Mobile waits with updates if phones are coming out. Maybe trying to upgrade people before updating them.

-925 I'm MOVING ON not staying with them any longer this is ridiculous they only have two phones how hard is it to test each one and release the update, its not like they're the ones building the ROM its already been tested they just need to do some fine tuning why they need 6 months to test for. Each time ATT release there update list I would tweet it to T-Mobile so they can look embarrassed guess that didn't work, there service SUCKS in my area 13126 any way was relying on wifi calling but that too isn't working even though a few days ago they send out an update.

Don't tell me you're with t-mobile cause they are cheap, my cousin hasn't left them cause they're cheap even though he doesn't have service at is home,work,moms house, grandparents house, beach house, drinking spot, my house, front yard and many other places. The uncarrier or non serviceable.

Wifi calling is an app so that can always be updated and the just sent out an update a few days ago, I've 925 DP 8.1.1 and I do see some lag every once in awhile it was worse and I did a full reset so the cyan update is needed.

So you're disappointed. Well that why its great to have choices. My company would love me back on iOS because were using UDA software for project management, I told em if they pay for iPhone and plan, I'm in. But really man, MS is offering DP to alleviate carrier crap for that very reason. Take Verizon for instance. They put out great phones, but don't expect even mediocre service concerning updates after that. That is why I've been able to stick with them because MS offers a workaround.

Obviously there are positives and negatives to each platform. The grass is not always greener. While there are things that WP is missing, doesn't change the core experience. The experience that brought me here in the first place. To each their own....

Keep in mind that they don't care what you think. Only what the percentages are in totals. If 3 dont care and 7 do... Good chance the 3 will be left behind. Were only numbers to them. There ticket to riches.

They should, because if those 3 are vocal enough to clue in the 7 about how badly they support their customers and encourage them *not* to be customers any more, they could end up losing a lot more than 30% of their customer base.

There has never been in the history of humanity such organized activity happening. Carriers know this clearly, so they dont sh*t into their pants at all if you are threatening them.

Theoritically yes, but practically? I wouldnt think so. In theory people could stop killing each other in Iraq, Ukraine, Mexico drug lords, all kind of Center and South African nameless countries etc. and live happily in harmony next to each other. But in reality they happily rip the eyes out of the other people with their knives.

I had the Sprint HTC Hero and the update to 2.1 took so long and Android was already moving on to 2.2. When I finally got the update, they announced that they won't support it to get 2.2. That made me get another Android phone. LG Optimus S, it had 2.2 preinstalled. The same story with the update to 2.3. That's when I thought buying a tablet with the newest Android on it would help my itch for the Android features. Needless to say that my Asus TF300 did the same thing with updates. I ended up switching to T-Mobile with a Nokia Lumia 710. I bought another tablet, this time a Nexus 7 2013. At this point I'm fed up with updates because my Nokia couldn't get Windows Phone 8 and had to upgrade to another phone. Nokia Lumia 810, that's another mistake I made. My point is that all updates sucks with or without the carriers. Manufacturers and carriers wants you to keep buying new devices to make more money. I'm just glad that Microsoft offers a work around cause I'm totally rocking my 810 with Developer Preview. I won't get rid of it until it breaks even more. My charging port is not working anymore but I purchased a wireless charging back cover for it. So my next phone will have to have No carrier exclusivity, not Android, with wireless charging, and with Microsoft Windows.

Man we have made this journey together all the way back to the hero on sprint I love tech I use all the platforms guess what folks they all such all OSS all carriers all brands they all suck none of them give a f about us.

You clearly haven't been a T-Mobile customer. The fact that they said "later this year" is making them pop some Champaign bottles and congratulate themselves on their amazing customer service and transparency.

Normally if you ask them questions like that in the forums they point you to an "update" page in the support section of their site and babble about how if they were to give out news of updates in the future that it is possible their plans may have to change and how that would anger and disappoint their customers.

Their customer service sucks, they operate under a customer service regime/protocol written by amateurs.

I think it's because they are focusing hard on network improvements. Around my neck of the woods T-Mobile has been busy adding towers, upgrading towers and basically switching 2g areas into 4g/LTE. I've seen an area get upgraded just recently before summer started and keep seeing improvements around here.

That's retarded. They aren't the same guys that do this work. They can be working on both. Technology sucks. We should revolt. I'm tired of this garbage that these companies are offering. They can do better the first time. In a lot of our businesses we would be fired by now. And for them to run commercials selling phones with 8.1 on them is sickening. I have 4 windows phones waiting for the updates.